Melker triumphs in GP3 opener
Nigel Melker took victory in the GP3 season opener at Istanbul Park after going from third to first with an impressive opening lap
The RSC Mucke driver picked off slow-starting polesitter Tom Dillmann (Carlin) at the first corner, and instantly picked up the chase of race leader Andrea Caldarelli (Tech 1).
Melker grabbed the lead by passing Caldarelli around the outside of Turn 12 at the end of the backstraight, and would hold on to the lead until the finish.
Caldarelli failed to capitalise on a mid-race safety car period - caused after Lewis Williamson collided with Leonardo Cordeiro and rolled at Turn 12. Williamson had been recovering from an early spin when he tried to pass MW Arden team-mate Mitch Evans for sixth on the opening lap, but he and Cordeiro clashed under braking at the end of the backstraight and the Briton's car rolled at relatively low speed when it reached the gravel.
But the bunching up of the field did not cause Melker any problems, as he made a good restart and crossed the line with a gap of 1.2 seconds to the snoozing Caldarelli.
The Italian then closed up again in the final laps, but Melker held his nerve to take victory.
Behind them, Dillmann spent the whole race defending from ART's Valtteri Bottas, and he held on to take third.
Antonio Felix da Costa (Status) climbed from 10th to fifth on the first lap and stayed there until the end, while behind him there was a bit more action.
Evans lost sixth place to Alexander Sims after the restart, but he got the place back on the penultimate lap as Sims's pace dropped.
The Briton then had his hands full defending from Addax driver Dean Smith on the final lap, and as the pair scrapped into Turn 12, Mucke's Michael Christensen was able to get past them both to take seventh.
Results - 15 laps:
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Nigel Melker RSC Mucke 28m13.773s
2. Andrea Caldarelli Tech 1 + 0.605s
3. Tom Dillmann Carlin + 2.942s
4. Valtteri Bottas ART + 3.840s
5. Antonio Felix da Costa Status + 4.410s
6. Mitch Evans MW Arden + 7.214s
7. Michael Christensen RSC Mucke + 10.608s
8. Alexander Sims Status + 11.713s
9. Dean Smith Addax + 11.928s
10. Gabby Chaves Addax + 19.559s
11. Nico Muller Jenzer + 23.673s
12. Zoel Amberg Atech CRS + 24.192s
13. Nick Yelloly Atech CRS + 24.977s
14. Ivan Lukashevich Status + 26.180s
15. Aaro Vainio Tech 1 + 26.354s
16. Tamas Pal Kiss Tech 1 + 27.239s
17. James Calado ART + 27.507s
18. Matias Laine Manor + 29.871s
19. Simon Trummer MW Arden + 30.222s
20. Dominic Storey Addax + 30.644s
21. Conor Daly Carlin + 31.336s
22. Pedro Nunes ART + 32.066s
23. Maxim Zimin Jenzer + 53.931s
24. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Manor + 1m03.096s
25. Vittorio Ghirelli Jenzer + 1 lap
Retirements:
Rio Haryanto Manor 13 laps
Luciano Bacheta RSC Mucke 8 laps
Leonardo Cordeiro Carlin 3 laps
Lewis Williamson MW Arden 3 laps
Marlon Stockinger Atech CRS 1 laps
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